Ontaine
Population: 3.5 million. "The people who chose rightly". Barbarian kingdom in central Belandria and to the east of Kangrisorn.The capital is Rekesvint. The Ontainians are known for being xenophobic, especially to non-humans. They will kill elves, dwarves and hobbits on sight, if they can get away with it. In addition they have the annoying habit of calling all non-Ontainians gnomes, disregarding the fact that the Ontainians are not too tall themselves. The Ontainians are proud warriors and good horsemen. Sheep and goats sustain the population who commonly inhabit huts or yurts. History: Ontaine was born from the ruins of Harastar in 89. Harastar was an attempt to join barbarian and urban cultures, and Ontaine was more or less the barbarian part purged of any civilization, including the overseas possessions. The Ontainian contempt of urban culture did not make the Ontainian kings refrain from using Kartrian wizards in times of war. But history repeated itself in the 5th century. In 417 Ontaine conquered Bondor from Pandesa with the use of Kartrian war wizards. The Kartrian influence at court grew until 480, when the king, Ekla, was accused of being charmed by the wizards. The ensuing civil war resulted in the secession of Harastor and Bondor in 490. The lack of city culture and the wizard assistance seemed not to be a military problem when Ontaine started a campaign in 517 against the Pandese Empire culminating in 673 with the conquest of Pandesa. Weakened by the Nomad Invasions, the well-trained Pandese legions could not stop the empire from being destroyed. But the Dark Stallion could. The plague began ravaging Rekesvint in 710 and signaled a long decline still in effect. With the siege of Kangrisorn and the Kangrisorn Wars the attention moved to the north, and the Pandese were slowly able to reconquer their lost lands and more. Ontaine is but a shadow of its former glory, and only stubbornness keeps the Ontainian from admitting their final defeat at Kangrisorn. The present king is Belonti. ''Legal system. ''Ontainians divide intelligent beings into three categories: Hasgur, heruldur and gnomes. Hasgur are real men, that is grown Ontainian males. Heruldur is women and children. Gnomes are non-humans, subdivided into mensur (non-Ontainian humans) and true gnomes (demi-humans). Gnomes have no rights, if a hasgur does something to a gnome, the gnome will have to fend for itself. True gnomes must never come near heruldur, as their souls may be corrupted, especially the women. If that happens, the heruldur in question must be tried, and perhaps executed. Mensur may in some cases come to be accepted as heruldur, either as a blood (kid) brother or a slave. Heruldur remain the responsibility of their hasgur (father, husband or ward) at all times. Hasgur who commit crimes against other hasgur or their heruldur, are judged by shaman. In the minor cases, the perpetrator is temporarily made heruldur (or mensur) until he makes it up to the victim of the crime (e.g. pays twice the value of a stolen object). Serious crimes are tried by a duel to the death, either against the victim or a hasgur from his or her family. Adultery is an exception, here the heruldur is executed, and the hasgur turned to mensur for life. Though gnomes have no rights, a hasgur that does something to a gnome has no right to protection by other hasgur from the gnome and his allies if the act would have been considered a crime when done to another hasgur. Maps III , V , VI and IX .